Ewald bellrstgbath



during its transport.

EWALD BELLINGRATH,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF DRESDEN, SAXONY.

HYDRAULIC APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 236,871, dated January 25, 1881.

pplication filed September 12, 1879. Patented in Germany November 5, 1878, in England March l1, 1879, in France February 20, 1879, and in Belgium February 24, 1879.

l To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. EWALD BELLINGRATH, of Dresden, in the Kingdom of Saxony, have, invented a new and useful Hydraulic Carriage for the Transport of Ships, Boats, and other Heavy Loads, of which the following is a speciiication.

The hydraulic carriage consists of a number of separate carriages connected together so as to form a train. lt is especially intended to be applied for transporting vessels over land where canals are not feasible, or from one level ot' a canal or ariver to another where there are no locks between the levels. Each separate carriage is provided on its opposite sides with one or more .hydraulic cylinders, and the cylinders on either side'of the train are put into communication with each other by pipes. The pistons of the cylinders `carry cross-beams and a iiexible platform, upon which the vessel rests' A uniform distribution of the weight of the vessel on the different cylinders is thus attained howsoever the vessel may happen to be bent, and this uniformity is maintained during the motion of the carriage, even when variations in the incline of the road or inequalities in the same occur.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings shows part of the said train of hydraulic carriages constructed according to this invention, and represented as carrying a vessel. Figs. 3.and 4 show a separate carriage. Fig. 2 is the platform.

The boat or barge taken for example represents a vessel such as those oli the Elbe, the

length of the cargo-room of which is, say, onehundred and thirty feet. It suffices when this part of the vessel only is supported, as the bow and the stern may remain unsupported Without bending to any material extent. For this purpose the platform merely requires to have the length of the cargo-room. The distance between the bearing-points of the loaded part of a vessel of the kind represented should be about ten feet therefore fourteen carriages coupled together will be assumed, each carria-ge having two cylinders, c, Figs. 3 and 4,

one on each side. vAccording to the above indications the distance apart between the extreme cylinders will be one hundred and thirty feet.

The carriages run on four wheels, each wheel having-twoI journals turning in suitable bearings. Each pair of wheels of one side carries a strong frame consisting of two plates or walls,

which frame is connected to the frame of the opposite side by means of several cross-girders. Between the walls of each frame, and at the middle of their length, the cylinders c are mounted upon sharp edges b. They are provided with the pistons d, which work at a stroke of, say, three feet. three inches. The cylinders are preferably iilled with glycerine, and the packing of the pistons is or may be similar to that of hydraulic presses.

Upon both pistons of each carriage bears a hollow iron cross-beam, c, upon which are secured the longitudinal wooden beams f, forming together the platform. (See Fig. 2.) These beams only reach from one cross-beam to the other, and are jointed together or united in pairs by means of a hinge, as shown in the drawings. Their section is such that they may bend between the cross-beams, but without breaking under the maximum load. The platform, being thus constructed, light and flexible, can adapt itself to the shape of the vessel, and yet offers a means for distributing with uniformitythe hydrostatic pressure upon the pistons. The cross-beams should be close enough to each other so that the vessel may stand on them alone without being damaged by an injurious bending. For this purpose a distance of ten feet 'apart for a vessel such as that shown in the drawings would be sufficient. When vessels are to be transported which are not provided with a iiat bottom, suitable cradles or other equivalent supporting devices adjustable to the transverse shape of the vessel have to be combined with the cross-beams e.

The amount by which the pistons of one carriage may rise or sink will ordinarily differ more or less from the rising or sinking of the pistons belonging to the contiguous carriage. The distance between the supporting-points of the cylinders is, however, invariable, as the distance between the centers of the two carriages remains uniform, and, moreover, the cylinders are kept in vertical position, or nearly so, by a special arrangement, to be described hereinafter.

Supposing, now, M and N of the diagram, Fig. 8, to be the points of support of the cylinders, and 0 P the bearing-points of the crossbeams e e on the piston-heads, it is evident that the length 0 1 will vary whenever there is a variation in the difference between 0 M and P N. For, allowing the variation in the length of 0 P to take place without straining, the cross-beams e e are not lixed to the top of the pistons, but the latter are provided with rollers or other equivalent devices on which the said beams may rock and move to and fro in longitudinal direction with respect to the carriage. This arrangement is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and by diagram Fig. 9. The crossbeam is provided at the inside with two plates, E,each bearing upon a disk, A, whose journals B B travel upon a sector, C, the lower edge, l), of which is rounded and rests on a bearin g, F, attached to the head ot' the piston d. This head is, moreover, provided with a forked guide-piece, G G, in which the brasses on the ends of the journals B B are held, so as to prevent the disk A from rolling oft' the sector, and at the same time to cause the pressure upon A to operate constantly in the center line of the piston.

Instead ot' using'the disk A together with the sector C either of these parts may be employed alone. lf the disk A is used only, its journals have to rotate in bearin gs xed to the top of the piston, whereas when solely the sector C is applied the guide-pieces G G may be dispensed with.

As the cross-beam is open at the bottom only, but very little water will enter into the same when the carriage is submerged for receiving a ship. The parts at the top of the piston muy therefore be kept well lubricated.

The cylinders being freely suspended in the carriage will have a tendency to tilt over whenever the force acting upon them from above is not directed exactly through the axis of their points of suspension. This angulaimotion may be limited by suitable stops; but even a comparatively small deviation from the vertical position will cause a transverse strain to act on the piston, which increases its friction in the cylinder and tends to bend or break it. In order to avoid this inconvenience and to keep the cylinders vertical, whatever lnay be the incline of the track, a pendulum, o, is adapted to the steering-carriage K (shown in longitudinal section, Fig. 1) of the train of hydraulic carriages. This pendulum acts, by means of connecting-rods u v u* and levers h ij k, on the lower ends ofthe cylinders, which are united together by means of connectingrods a'. The arrangement of these levers and c0nnecting-rods is such as to cause the cylin- E ders to remain parallel with the pendulum,

and as the latter always remains vertical (not taking into account the slight amount oi'deviation due to the existing frictional resistances) the cylinders will also be vertical, or nearly so. Consequently the pressure of the lower edges of the sectors C will constantly operate in the axial direction of the pistons.

To complete the arrangement means are required for connecting the platform to the carriages, so as to cause the former to follow the motion of the latter. For this purpose chains (not shown in the drawings) are employed, of which one on each side leads from the frame of the tirst carriage to the last cross-beam of the platform, and another one from the frame of the last carriage to the first cross-beam, each chain being provided with a mechanism for keeping it under uniform tension, so as to allow the platform only sufficient play for its shifting with regard to the points of support.

It' fourteen carriages are taken, for example, as above stated, and it being supposed that the cylinders of either side are numbered 1 to 14 from the front to the rear, the cylinders from 4 to 11 may be in constant intercommunication; likewise l with 14, 2 with 13,3 with 12. Each of these four groups of one side communicates, by means ot' a separate pipe, with the pipe m of an apparatus, L, fitted upon the platform of the steering-carriage K, (see Figs. 1, 5, 6,and 7,) and the four groups of the other side are in communication with the pipe n of the same apparatus by means of other pipes. Suitable cocks o o2 o3 o4 o5 o6 o" o fitted to the apparatus L serve for opening or closing the connecting-pipes. By this arrangement communication can be established or intercepted between either of the groups of the left-hand cylinders and the pipe m, by means of one of the cocks o' o3 o5 o7, While the same result is obtained by means of thecocks 02,0306, and osin regard to the groups of the right-hand cylinders and the pipe n. Both opposite cocks, o and o2, may be opened or closed simultaneously by turning a small shaft,p, Fig. 7. The same eti'ect can be obtained in regard to o3 with o4, and so on; but in case of need they may be acted upon individually. Communication can thus be established by means of the pipes m and n between the groups of cylinders 4to 11, 3 and 12, 2 and 13, l and 14 on either side of the carriages.

supposing, now, a light vessel of the kind shown in the drawings is to be transported, the loaded part of which is seventy feet; then the said cocks have to be closed, so that there is com m uuic-ation between the cylinders of each group on either side only. The loaded part of the vessel will, under such conditions, be borne by the pistons ofthe cylinders 4 to 11, the extreme ones ofwhich are supposed to be seventy feet apart, and the fluid in the said cylinders willact with a countenpressure corresponding to the weight bearing on them. The pistons of the other groups of cylinders will, on the other hand, receive the weight of the empty bow and the stern of the vessel only, the duid IOO IIO

v be a loss of fluid, however slight.

within these cylinders operating with a lower degree of pressure than'the iiuid in cylinders 4 to 11. If, under the said conditions, all the groups of cylinders were put into communication with each other, the loaded part of the vessel would cause the central group of pistons to sink and those of the other groups to rise, until equilibrium would be attained by vthe tension produced in the fore and after parts two, orthree pairs -of cocks placed close to each other. In loading the carriages care should be taken that the Avessel settles as nearly as possible with its fore-and-aft center line upon the middle of theplatibrm. This end `may easily bev attained by means of suitable marks. The cylinders of either side should be in intercommunication with each other only, otherwise, in case the-vessel should bear more on one side than on the other, their con- A tents would flow toward the other side, whereas, when the contents of the cylinders are separate the cylinders of the one side are merely under a pressure slightly higher than those of the other side.` ln their normal condition the cylinders should be haltl lilled; 4but as there 35 always exists leakage through the packing of the pistons, notwithstanding the use of the most efficient arrangements, there will always For the purpose of informing the superintendent or driver ot' the carriage, in case this loss should be such as to cause a piston to sink too much, an electric device may be combined with each piston, which causes a bell to be sounded as soon as any piston has ,sunk beyond a certain xed limit. In order to refill the cylindersin such case at once a small accumulator, q, is capable of having communication with pipes m and a upon the steering-carriage by means Vof a connecting-pipe, z, and cocks, (shown in section in Fig. 5,) the contents of said accumulator being kept under a suitable pressure by means of a weight, r, acting -upon the chain of a tackle and driving a pistonwithin the cylinder of lthe accumulator. The details of this accumulator are shown in Figs. 10 to 13, inelusive.

The replenishing ot' the vcylinders c is effected by establishing communication between the accumulator .and either of the pipes m and n, on one hand, and between the latter and the `required group. of cylinders on the other hand. Care should merely be taken that the groups of the extreme cylinders be not filled tooniuch, and that the, pressure of the liquid which they contain be in due proportion to the pressure in the center group of cylinders,

because, if this should'not be the case, aprejudicial pressure might be exerted against the ends of the vessel which would have a tendency to bend the same. For this purpose a pressure-gage is fitted upon each of the pipes m and at for indicating the diiferences of pressure. Pressure-regulators might also be adapted between the central group of cylinders and each of the external groups, for the purpose of constantly keeping the pressure of the central group higher.

For replenishin g the accumulator the weight r must be lifted and the piston drawn back, whereupon the requisite amount of fluid is poured in through an opening which, during the working, is kept closed by a suitable screwplug.

In order to insure a proper working of all the parts under hydraulic pressure, it is important that `the connecting-pipes, &c., contain no air. Should, however, air have entered with the fluid, when reillin g the accumulator, for instance, it may be made to escape by means of small screws or valves fitted to the pipes-m and n, and to the connecting-pipes.

The carriages are or may be provided with brakes operated by means of suitable gearing from the steering-carriage; but as the arrangement employed for that purpose is composed of well-known parts it has not been thought necessary to show it in the drawings.

Before the carriages are put in motion within the water for the purpose of transporting a vessel the latter must be connected to the steering-carriage by means of a rope; and in case the carriages are intended to go backward the vessel should be made fast to a column on the last carriage by means of a rope or otherwise.

As tothe service upon the steering-carriage, one attendant is sufficient for the same, as the different manipulations never occur at the same time.

When a vessel is,to be placed on the carriage the operation is as follows The carriage or set of carriages is conveyed backward into the water, with platform nearly horizontal, until the ship may iioat above the same. Supposing, now, that the length of the loaded part of the ship is one hundred and thirty feet, the driver will have to turn the cocks 0' o2 o3 o4 o5 o6 o7 o8 so as to establish communication between the above-mentioned groups of cylinders l and 14, 2 and 13, 3 and 12, and from 4 to 11. A rope is then thrown over to the boatman and the signal is given for starting. After having laid this rope around the bitt of the vessel the boatman slacks the same out, while the carriages are started, until the vessel is in proper position above the said carriages. The carriages and the vessel are then moved forward together, the latter being still afloat. While the carriages ascend the inclined plane the vessel gradually settles upon the platform, so that the pistons acted upon in the irst place descend,whereas the remain- TOO IIO

ing pistons rise until they are all in operation. The platform will then have laid itself completely against the bottom of the vessel, and the latter will rise out of the water horizontally. The carriages are gradually loaded in the proportion as the vessel loses displacement. After the vessel has been raised out of the water the carriages may pass from one incline to another of different gradient; or they may run upward on one incline and down on another. The vessel will always remain, as it were, oating upon the duid in the cylinders c by the interposition of the pistons d, which adapt themselves with regard to their position to the distance apart between the track and the platform. When the carriages re-enter the water at the other end ot' the inclined plane the position of the vessel may differ from the horizontal position. lt will ordinarily incline forward on account of the front pistons having sunk deeper at the starting than the rear ones, and consequently the vessel will not re-enter the water horizontally. An important peculiarity of the hydraulic carriage then presents itself. As soon as the bow of the vessel enters the water the position of the pistons alters. The front pistons are partly disburdened,whereas the rear pistons are still acted upon but as the pressure below all the pistons is equal the excess of weight at the rear raises the front pistons in proportion to the relief of the front part of the vessel until the latter has entirely entered the water,where by the platform will become horizontal again. When the vessel separates from the carriages it has the same speed as the carriages,and,its rope having been detached, it can be steered so as to pass along the side of the steeringcarriage, while the whole train of carriages is yet drawn forward a short distance. When running in the other direction the vessel has, at the beginning, to be fastened to the column of the last carriage instead of to the steeringcarriage.

Should the contents of the cylinders slightly diminish after a certain time, the driver can replenish the cylinders at pleasure during the motion by establishing a communication of short duration between the accumulator and the separate groups of cylinders. The ar rangement of brake employed will be necessary or not, according to the system of locomotion. In all cases the driver has ample time for operating it. When the speed of the carriages does not exceed six feet per second it is not necessary to employ an arraugementot' brake having a quick action.

When repairs are needed, the defective carriage can easily be changed by bringing it upon a traveling platform forming part of the track, and the length of which corresponds to that ofthe carriage. For this purpose the con meeting-rods placed above the middle of the carriage-frames, the brake-rods, the connecting-rods for the cylinder ends, and the pipes have to he disunited.

The carriages run on a track constructed according to the load to be transported, and which for light vessels, such as the barge taken for example, need only be composed of two strong rails.

The length of the hydraulic carriage or train of carriages, and the stroke ot' the pistons, which latter, as a matter of security, islimited by chains y y, Fig. 3, limit the `amount of incline, so that when one of the extreme pistons is at the lower end of its lstroke the other piston can be in its highest position. For the above-mentioned dimensions of carriage the incline of the track may be in the proportion of one to forty up to the point where the vessel is lifted out ofthe water, there beingadis tance of one hundred and thirty feet apart between the extreme cylinders, and the stroke bein gthree feet three-inches. If itis desired to pass from one gradient to another on the said incline, it is requisite to make the change of gradient suiiciently easy so as not to check the free play of the pistons when the train ot carriages is passing the point where the angle of inclination changes.

The use of the described hydraulic-carriage is not limited as regards the weight of the loads. 1f the number, size, and strength of the carriages, and the number of rails are suitably increased, the heaviest sea-going vessels may be placed upon the carriages and be transported without causing an excessive weightto be thrown on any single wheel, oron any point of the rails. Moreover, for the better distribution of the weight or pressure on the carriages, each one ot' them may be provided on either side with a setof twoor more hydraulic cylinders, instead of the single cylinder described in the foregoing,thedil`crent sets communicating with each other in an analogous manner as the latter.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with a train of wheeled carriages for the conveyance of ships, boats, and other heavy loads upon rails, of a series of cylinders containiugasuitable duid, and in communication with each other, and provided with pistons adapted to carry the entire load, which is thereby supported uniformly, whatever may be the dilerences or' the variations ot the distance apart between the bearingpoints of the load, substantially as hereinbe fore described.

2. The combination of a pendulum with the several cylinders of a train of wheeled carriages, as described, whereby the said cylinders are maintained in a vertical, or nearly ver. tical, position.

3. The combination, with a trai-n of wheeled carriages, each carriage whereof is supplied with h ydrauliccylinders, of suitable pipes connecting said cylinders together in groups, which pipes communicate with a governing apparatus, as L, whereby one or more groups of cylinders may be simultaneously or separately put into action.

IOO

IIO

4. The combination, with a train of Wheeled nicating hydraulic jacks between the supportearriages furnished with hydraulic cylinders, ing-bed and the trucks t0 equalize the pressas described,of aplatform consistingof hinged ure upon the trucks and compensate for verlongitudinal beams. tical irregularities of the track. 15

5. The combination, with the cross-beams e, In testimony whereof I have signed my name the cylinders c, and the pistons d, of the secto this specification in the presence of two subtor C, or its equivalent, such as the disk A, scribing,` Witnesses.

substantially as described. EWALD BELLINGRATH.

6. The combination, with a carriage or train Witnesses 1o of earriagesfor the conveyance of ships, boats, LON KLEWPERER,

and the like upon rails, of a series of commu- PAUL DRUCIm/ILLER. 

